Talascend Reviews

Former Employee – worked at Talascend

Pros – The people were very nice

Cons – Benefit costs for the employee are through the roof

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Talascend full-time

Pros – I love several of the recruiters I work with , great personalities. They are the main reason I hung on as long as I did.

Cons – The company allows inter-office relationships which affect the whole team. We sit closley together and have to interact together on a daily basis, it has become a place I just don't want to be. A team lead and recruiter are currently dating and are on the same project together. The recruiting manager is best friends with the team lead, needless to say he covers for them and turns a blind eye. Talk about making a bad situation worse.

Benefits are so expensive most employees go outside of the company to obtain them.

Business has slowed down to a snails pace, no new business coming in.

No support is given to anyone by management.

Advice to Senior Management – Do not allow your employees to date - especially if they are in the same office and especially if one is a 22 year old Recruiter and the other is a 40 something year old Team Lead. It creates a very unpleasant and uncomfortable work environment for everyone. If more than one individual has complained about it someone should listen.

Do not let your managers become such good friends with their employee they turn a blind eye to complaints and issues with that employee(s). Again, this does not make for a good work environment.

When your best recruiters and sales team are leaving, you should listen and open your eyes.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Talascend full-time

Pros – Location of the office is pretty good
Good place for entry-level or new Recruiters to learn the business
Lots of opportunities to fill low-margin positions ($2-$4/hr gross profit)
If you like the "old school" Recruiter office environment, it's perfect

Cons – High volume, low margin business model.
Seem to be over satisfied with sub-vendor buisness rather than developing business with decision makers (engineering)
Too many Salespeople are too timid considering the competitive technical marketplace
Your comissions earned on Contract placements go back to the "house" after one year...you are "cut off" even if your people are still working on Contract

Advice to Senior Management – None. I have my opinions (above) but it's not my place to tell Managment how to run their business.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Talascend

Pros – Flexible work schedule-allowed to work from home when children are sick, good hours to still get home to have family time

Salary, commission and bonus-if you're a good recruiter you'll be rewarded here. They also have started a President, Chairman's and CEO's Club where you can qualify fo pretty exotic trips. Examples are the Banyan Tree Resort in Riviera Maya, San Fransisco and Napa California.

Top Management-has taken back the reins for company. They listen and really care about all employees. The Presdident is very in touch with whats going on and you'll hear from him-for better or worse!

Employees-those of use who've made it through the economic downturn really feel close. These people are experts and have many many years of staffing expience behind them.

Cons – Career Growth-very limited for recruiters if you're not interested in sales

Communication between sales and recruiters is always tricky

Intake Meetings-lack of thorough intake meetings from sales leads to disgruntled recruiters and hiring managers.

Technology-They use Bullhorn which has some serious limitations

Training-no chance for further education of training, can do the same job for years and years

Prior Management-very poor, disorganized and lacked ability to implement their grand strategy. I think this has been corrected

Advice to Senior Management – Now that we've come out of the downturn in economy, put together a plan to grow your people. Very few opportunities to train, learn new things-job can get stale year after year. Keep bringing in the large projects, great chance to develop your recruiters but think about what comes after that for them in their career.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Talascend as a contractor for more than 3 years

Pros – They do get the payroll out on time, found one employee in general in payroll that goes to the extreme to help you out when you have questions/issues.

Cons – They court you very well until you sign the papers, then you never hear from them again. Local rep is non existent, as long as they are collecting their commission they don't care how the job is going. Where I am placed there are same type jobs staffed by other companies that give a much better benefit package. If you have any problems that you require Talascend mgm't input you always get referred back to the area rep, even though you do not get timely answers from them. Better staffing companies out there, check out your options before signing up.

Advice to Senior Management – Update the company benefit plan to better suit the type/level of employees you are trying to recruit. When you have employees away from the MI office make sure they are serviced by caring representatives and make the employee feel like they are appreciated for something more than a commission check.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Talascend

Pros – They value expertise and want people to know their customers well
I was always encouraged to be honest with customers and contractors
They take the values very seriously - particularly integrity
Business has done well to rebound from the recession
Strong management, listen to you and take things on board
Friendly and professional. Everyone is welcome.

Cons – They still work Fridays every week. Most competitors don't now.
You have to really push yourself if you want to progress. They want you to drive your own career. If you're not an A type personality, you may lose out.

Advice to Senior Management – I'm very grateful for my time at the company. Overall, it's a good place to work. Talascend has a brain and a heart and that's rare. Maybe look at flexibility around Fridays. It's really important to the younger generation.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Talascend

Pros – Fun peers
Good location
OK client base
Industry freedom
The company do provide free food for breakfast and snacks throughout the day

Cons – Full support was not given when profitable opportunities were on the table.

There was a reluctance to empower staff and give them the freedom to really succeed

Advice to Senior Management – Give staff more freedom and support to express themselves and their abilities.

make sure that decisions made on a management level are followed through

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend